Shadow Realm Animal Shelter
by wd50
Summary: Ever since I heard about YGO, I wanted to read a story where somebody just pets all the adorable duel monsters. I have yet to find that story, so I've decided to write one myself. Here it is.
1. Enter Yami Bakura

**Disclaimer:** I am in no way affiliated with YGO.

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 _Fate!_ Yami Bakura laughed hysterically from his position at the edges of the Duel Monster world. Without air in this part of the Shadow Realm, the sound never reached even his own ears. The Pharaoh had banished him to the Shadows, but with his passing to another dimension and subsequent return, the bond between the worlds weakened. Yami Bakura struggled to escape his confines, and in the process caught a glimpse of another world.

A world where they were merely cartoons, where Yugi Motou was the protagonist, where their fates were written long before any of them knew what would come to pass. Every gut-wrenching decision he made, every chance he took, every success, every failure, even the tragedy of his family; every choice he thought was his own, all designed by 'Providence'. So that was the root of his Fate, that was the Destiny of which the Pharaoh spoke, one where they were destined to win, and he was destined to die.

If Yami Bakura were the type to be discouraged, he'd have given up by now.

But just because his fate has been typed up doesn't mean it cannot be altered. Perhaps not by him, but if a mortal wrote it, surely another mortal from the same dimension could rewrite the Fate of this World.

He'd need somebody with strong ties to that dimension, he knew, so they could borrow its powers even in this, this 'YGO' world. This meant he wouldn't be able to forcefully remove them from their world, they would have to come out of their own accord, but that should be simple enough. After all, the manipulation of mortals is Bakura's forte.

...

Adeline knew she was asleep. It was one of these dreams where you know you're dreaming but can't quite get out of it. Not that she wanted to. A tanned but still-unscarred Yami Bakura appeared at the foot of her bed, in 3-D and full color, she thought groggily. She knew it was Yami Bakura as opposed to the other two Bakuras without him saying a word, like you naturally know things in a dream. And she knew she was dreaming because, well, she was seeing Yami Bakura.

He was dressed in Ryou's jeans and the red robe from his Egyptian counterpart, standing tall with his arms crossed and robe open, posing seductively and beckoning her to follow him with an arrogant tilt of his chin.

Huh, she mused, she hadn't had a dream about YGO in a long time, the thought just never came up. Though she did assume that if she ever had a dream like this, it would be a half-naked Seto Kaiba instead of Bakura.

'Not worth it,' she decided, shifting into an even more comfortable position under the warm covers, 'Yami Bakura is not worth getting out of bed for." She waved for Bakura to come closer, the thief complied readily, coming forward until he was immediately beside her bed. Taking him by the arm (which was surprisingly warm, usually she didn't feel things very well in a dream), she dragged him down until he was on his knees beside her, then reached out a hand to run through his long white hair, enjoying the softness that was so unexpected from the Thief King.

"I've always wanted to do this to Ryou," Adeline said with too wide a smile, "But I guess you'll do."

The man stiffened, then swerved around in a fit of anger to leave. Darn, the people in her dreams usually follow the personality designated by her subconscious, so naturally Yami Bakura would leave after she said that. Oh well, Adeline thought as she flipped over, dragging the soft blankets under her chin and sinking into a deeper sleep.

...

Damn it! Yami Bakura raged. How _dare_ that mortal defy him! How dare she refuse him when he demands that she follow! How _dare_ she compare him to his weakling aibou, then deem _him_ a subpar substitute!

It's been harder than he expected finding a mortal to summon to the Shadow Realm. He needed somebody with strong ties to their own world, but also a strong interest in the YGO world so they could cross over. Somebody young so their soul is still powerful and able to withstand the toll of traversing dimensions. Somebody naive and easy to manipulate. More importantly, somebody he could reach given his limited window from the Shadow Realm to their reality.

Adeline had been the most viable target.

No matter, he assured himself, he would study this woman, learn her every move, every strength and every flaw. And with his newly-acquired shapeshifting powers, he would lure her into the Shadow Realm, where he could use her powers to rewrite Destiny.

...

She had that dream again. Adeline thought as she looked at Yami Bakura (again) in front of her bed. Maybe if she concentrated really hard, he'd become Seto Kaiba? And she had always liked Dark Magician... Usually, her dreams worked out the way she wanted if she just concentrated hard enough but not this time.

This time, Yami Bakura went directly to her and tried to drag her up. He thought he'd give the straight forward approach one last try. She slapped his hand away before he touched her. How rude. Yami Bakura wasn't her favorite character, not even one of her preferred characters, so there's probably a reason for this behavior. That's what she expects a Yami Bakura to do, so naturally that's what he would do in her dream.

Bakura struggled to reach his hand to the female mortal, who still had the impertinence to stay in bed! Even when he, the great Yami Bakura stood in front of her. But as he tried, and repeatedly failed to even touch that girl (even though she could touch him no problem), he realized, she was protected by the powers of this dimension, he really cannot force her to come with him. But that's okay, Bakura was never the brawns over brain type.

He had studied enough about this girl to know how to assure her cooperation.

Adeline was concentrating hard, trying to change Yami Bakura into Seto Kaiba, or at least Ryou, it seemed to have another effect. She bolted upright when she saw it, a pair of triangular-shaped furry ears, black at the base, fading to an off-white at the tip, popped up on Yami Bakura's head. A long, distinctly feline tail, covered in black fur, snuck out of the back of his jeans, through the opening in his robe, and hovered in the air, just out of her reach.

"Meow!" She said, her eyes bulging and instinctively reached out to grab the tail, which pulled back teasingly. Her dreams usually aren't this awesome.

The thief bent down. This time, with his shapeshifting powers, the mortal would be putty within the palms of his hand. Adeline watched in excitement as the man turned into a large panther, covered in black fur except for a tuft of off-white fur in front of its chest and another on its ears. It (he?) leaned forward gracefully, nuzzling its forehead against her chin before retreating, looking at her with a very superior gaze.

If it were a human, she'd be annoyed. But it's a cat, and it's well within the rights of all felines to bear a disdain against the human race.

"Um… Hand, I mean paw shake?" Adeline was sitting up with her feet dangling off the bed now, tentatively reaching out one hand towards the beautiful animal in front of her.

The panther huffed, but deigned to reach a front paw out, and placed it against that of the young human female.

Adeline immediately grabbed it with both hands, pressing the warm soft pad of flesh on the underside of the paw- the ultimate sign of trust a cat (big or small) bestows onto a human. Its claws retracted, the paw sat harmlessly in her hands as the greedy human gently slid a hand up, against the grain of its fur, reaching the chest and scratching it just under the chin.

Bakura purred despite himself. It felt so good! The pleasure had traveled to his brain, sending tingles all over his body, and the sound came out before his brain came back online. Angry with himself for this lack of self-control, furious with this mortal for bringing it out in him, Bakura turned to leave, one ear flopped over from the forcefulness of this action, and his tail swerved angrily behind him. Like a cat seeing a string, Adeline naturally grabbed it and refused to let go, thus following behind.

Ever the opportunist, Yami Bakura saw his chance. He led the mortal cautiously towards the gate of the dimensions, and sure enough, when he crossed over, the mortal followed dumbly behind, still with her hand on his tail.

Foolish mortal! He laughed inwardly, little does she know, she would soon be the tool in my plans of world domination!

I wonder where it's going, Adeline thought, maybe I can ride it after it trusts me enough.

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 **A/N:** I have to come realize that writing 'cute' stories may be harder than writing plot-based ones, for one thing, it actually requires good writing.


	2. Enter Shadow Realm

**Disclaimer** : I do not own YGO

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Adeline followed the large cat across a dark dimensional gateway without a second thought, secretly commenting on the lack of originality even in her dreams, it was such a _generic-looking_ portal. She needs to train her creative side more. She sped up a little so she was walking next to the Black Panther again, shifting one hand to grab the base of the tail in case the cat ran, and petting its fur with the other, trying to remember every detail about the animal in hopes that she'd dream of it again tomorrow night.

Yami Bakura panted, looking, though he'd crush you if you said so, a lot like a dog. Crossing between worlds had always been challenging, but to bring a flesh-and-blood mortal across was almost too much even for an ancient Egyptian spirit like himself. So even in feline form, it helped to stick his tongue out and breathe through his mouth.

It would take weeks maybe months to fully recover to his former strength, but that's no matter. He had waited several millennia to get his revenge, he would be patient until the time finally comes. Meanwhile though, the whitehaired spirit felt victorious above all else. Just as he expected, the dimwitted mortal female had been completely overcome by his charms (your ears and tail, Adeline would have corrected) and crossed the dimensional barrier following in his path. He shall have dominion over this land very soon. It's time he shifted back to his own form and reveal his evil plan to this mortal! Although... Bakura felt the hand that still grabbed onto his tail. The Thief King was still relatively new to the shape-shifting experience, so he's not entirely sure what the tail would become once he changed into his human form. If it's the tail of his robes, great, but if... Ahem, the great Thief King would humor this mortal female for a while longer, until she releases her hand, _then_ shift back to his human form.

Such softness, Adeline squeezed a little harder on the tail, pulling it back in hopes the animal would stop and let her ride him. Instead, the black feline seemed undeterred, resolute in leading her to its destination. Adeline followed for a while, seeing space itself fold beneath her feet, until a beautiful Medieval-like landscape was revealed before her. A charming unspoiled village laid at the center, with white picket fences, green rolling hills, a clear babbling brook, picturesque until you remember they didn't have plumbing or toilet paper. Adeline wasn't surprised at all, nor did she marvel at the scene, she had a picture like this as her desktop some time ago, so it's natural this would come back in her dream. She was much more interested in the animal in her hand.

His Kingdom! There're still opposing factions throughout the land of course, and numerous powerful enemies that would love nothing more than devouring him alive, but soon, his reaches would expand through this realm and the next. Bakura laughed. As a large cat, the sound came out as halfway between a wheeze, a choked-cough and a sinister villain cackle, actually very appropriate for Yami Bakura though he didn't think so. He stopped abruptly, glaring back at the hand that still wouldn't let go.

Adeline hesitated. There's something she had always wanted to do to a cat, but never did, because it's wrong and not fair for the animal and when she first wanted to do it, she was too old and mature to do something like that. But now that she was in a dream, surely it would be alright. After all, nobody's really getting hurt.

There! Bakura's eyes focused on a large predatory figure hovering and hobbling at the edge of the village, those wolves had been eyeing his territory for a while. Now that he caught one alone and injured, it's time to cut down the pack. He made his way steadily towards the invader as the mortal followed. He'll keep her alive, but if she loses a limb or two, well, that just makes it harder for her to run away.

She'll do it! Adeline decided firmly, she's always wanted to try... Taking hold of the middle of the tail and stroking the fur gently, a move that elicited another purr from Yami Bakura, she lifted the tail up, put it into her mouth and chomped down. No, she's not proud of it, but she never did this as a kid and had always wanted to try.

Yeow! Yami Bakura jumped up five feet into the air as the pain shot through his brain and a weakness shot through his entire body. What does this mortal think she's doing?! He turned around angrily, forgetting about the wounded wolf for now. He would turn back into his human form and destroy her! He would turn back into... He would... Bakura tried and tried again, and discovered to his great horror that he could no longer change back. The crossing of the dimensions had taken more out of him more than he expected, and the mortal biting him had somehow drained his energy as well. His magic was all but nonexistent at this point. He looked back guardedly at the injured wolf slowly made its way towards him. As a spirit and not a duel monster, he had no powers in this world without magical energy.

Adeline looked regretfully at the panther that ran away with its tail between its legs, she knew she should've resisted the urge, at least until she had more furry felines to play with. But to be scared up a tree by a wolf, was she subconsciously thinking of the cowardly lion when she dreamt it up?

"Rwar! The wolf that approached her said. As much as dogs descended from wolves, she could tell from the ferocity in its eyes, the pride in its form and the confidence in its strides that this beast was never domesticated. The wolf was pitch black, covered in tattered battle armor and innumerable wounds, the most severe of which was under its abdomen, revealing its entrails which was dragged along on the ground. She couldn't help feeling a pang of pity for the animal, and a tinge of annoyance that this dream might be turning into a nightmare.

The wolf didn't attack, but rather sniffed her suspiciously. She slowly reached her hand out, cautious that the animal didn't take this as an action of aggression, and it pressed its nose against her hand to get a better assessment of her scent, then as it withdrew, quickly licked her palm. Adeline giggled, okay, not a nightmare after all.

"Human!" The wolf recognized the species of this female in alarm. Its voice was a husky throaty roar, like a seasoned warrior who just returned from battle.

"Talking wolf!" Adeline replied equally surprised. Then realized she really shouldn't be, it was her dream after all, of course wolves could talk.

"What is a _Human_ doing in the Shadow Realm?" The wolf circled her slowly, like it was choosing the best direction of attack. Humans, he knew, was the master of this world, and the source of unspeakable dangers and miracles alike. Though he was injured and cast out of his clan, it remains the responsibility of every duel monster to protect this realm from the threat of humans. This human in particular, possessed a power he had never felt before, a power akin to how his peers described the sun, though as he had never been to the human realm, he couldn't tell.

Adeline could only notice its wounds leaking with every step it took, its breathing becoming more labored, its eyes glossing over slowly. She reached out her hands and firmly pushed the wolf onto the ground, the animal struggled but couldn't put up much resistance as it fell with a soft thud, its bushy tail flopping onto the ground and bounced a couple of times.

This mortal, despite the energy that radiated from her, was physically weak, but he was weaker. He tried to roar loudly to give warning, but only managed a loud bark. The mortal apparently took this as some sort of signal as she reached a hand behind his ears and scratched there. He purred. It was pleasurable, and it would help his escape if this mortal thought he had fallen captive to her ministrations. Unconsciously, his tail thumped against the ground in pleasure as he purred again.

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 **A/N:** Let me know what you think, all feedback welcome. Oh, and the wolf is Pitch-Black Warwolf (lv4, 1600/1000), not that it matters in this story. I've always wanted to pet wolves.


End file.
